List of Female Chess Players - Grandmasters

Grandmasters

There are currently 28 female players to hold the GM title:

Name Country Birth Date Date Age Earned World Champion Peak rating
(Nov 2012)		 Notes
Nona Gaprindashvili Georgia 1941-05-03 1978 37 WCC 1962–1978 2495 First female grandmaster
Maia Chiburdanidze Georgia 1961-01-17 1984 23 WCC 1978–1991 2550
Susan Polgar Hungary
United States		 1969-04-19 1991 22 norms 1996–1999 2577 First to be awarded the title traditionally
Judit Polgár Hungary 1976-07-23 1991 15 norms – 2735 Youngest grandmaster ever at the time
Xie Jun China 1970-10-30 1991 21 WCC 1991–1996,1999–2001 2574
Pia Cramling Sweden 1963-04-23 1992 29 norms – 2550
Zhu Chen China
Qatar		 1976-03-16 2001 25 norms 2001–2004 2548
Humpy Koneru India 1987-03-31 2002 15 norms – 2623
Antoaneta Stefanova Bulgaria 1979-04-19 2003 25 norms 2004–2006 2560
Alexandra Kosteniuk Russia 1984-03-23 2004 20 EWC 2008–2010 2540
Peng Zhaoqin China
Netherlands		 1968-05-08 2004 36 EWC – 2472
Hoang Thanh Trang Vietnam
Hungary		 1980-04-25 2007 27 norms – 2501
Kateryna Lahno Ukraine 1989-12-27 2007 17 norms – 2557
Xu Yuhua China 1976-10-29 2007 30 WCC 2006–2008 2517
Marie Sebag France 1986-10-15 2008 21 norms – 2533
Zhao Xue China 1985-04-06 2008 23 norms – 2565
Hou Yifan China 1994-02-27 2008 14 norms 2010–2012 2639 Youngest ever female grandmaster
Nana Dzagnidze Georgia 1987-01-01 2008 21 norms – 2559
Monika Soćko Poland 1978-03-24 2008 30 norms – 2505
Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant Georgia
Scotland		 1968-07-19 2009 40 norms – 2506
Tatiana Kosintseva Russia 1986-04-11 2009 23 norms – 2581
Natalia Zhukova Ukraine 1979-06-05 2010 30 norms – 2499
Elina Danielian Armenia 1978-08-16 2010 32 norms - 2521
Viktorija Čmilytė Lithuania 1983-08-06 2010 26 norms - 2528
Nadezhda Kosintseva Russia 1985-01-14 2011 26 norms – 2576
Dronavalli Harika India 1991-01-12 2011 20 norms – 2525
Anna Muzychuk Ukraine
Slovenia		 1990-02-28 2012 22 norms – 2606
Anna Ushenina Ukraine 1985-08-30 2012 27 WCC 2012– 2502

There is also a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title, but the requirements for achieving it are much lower. Still, chess has not regained its former social status among women. As of 2012, no woman has ever been the world champion, and only a handful have made it to the top 500 players. Even so, the strength of women players continues to climb, and by 2005 most of the top 10 women held the Grandmaster title. In September 2005, Susan Polgar's younger sister GM Judit Polgár of Hungary, then rated #8 in the world by the international chess organization FIDE, became the first woman to play for the World Championship title.

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